Winning a state title was all part of Hurst L.D. Bell senior Nik Bosnyak's plan.

LEILA HILL / DMN

Gymnasts of the Year: Hurst L.D. Bell's Nik Bosnyak (left) and Lake Highlands' Sarie Morrison.

When he was a sophomore, Bosnyak mapped out his goals step-by-step. They were supposed to lead to an all-around state championship. And they did, as Bosnyak and Bryan's Matthew Kelly were declared co-champions when tied with 113.725 points.

"I kept myself on track that way," said Bosnyak, who was third last year and 12th two years ago. "It felt good to accomplish my ultimate goal."

Bosnyak, 18, capped the season with second-place finishes on the high bar and parallel bars – his favorite event – and a fourth in the vault.

"I knew I was going to be a contender," Bosnyak said. "I just went out and tried to have some fun. I kept it light-hearted."

While most of the state's top high school gymnasts also train in private gyms, Bosnyak competes exclusively in high school gymnastics. He has never competed in club gymnastics. He plans to enroll at Oklahoma and join the school's developmental team. He hopes to walk onto the NCAA squad within two years.

Bosnyak's ambitions are not limited to the gym. He's an honor student and is enrolled in the school's International Baccalaureate program. He's ranked No. 12 in his class, narrowly missing his goal of being in the top 10.

"Yeah, that one really hurts," Bosnyak said.

The third-year coach led Bell to a second-place finish at the state championships. Bell was in rebuilding mode after graduating seven seniors from its 2007 state championship squad.

Sarie Morrison is having some serious fun now.

After taking a brief layoff from gymnastics, the Lake Highlands sophomore won the all-around at state. She also won the vault and the floor exercise in the event finals. More important, she regained a love and appreciation for the sport.

"I like being relaxed," Morrison said. "It's good not having it so tense."

There was a time when Morrison took gymnastics seriously. She was once on an Olympic track, competing as an international elite gymnast when she was 13 and 14 years old. She was enrolled at Plano's Spring Creek Academy, whose alumni include 2004 Olympic gold medalist Carly Patterson and world champion Nastia Liukin, which allowed her to devote more time for training. Morrison competed in the 2006 Visa National Championships alongside probable Olympian Shawn Johnson.

Eventually, Morrison tired of the stresses that come with being an elite gymnast. She gave it up completely for seven months and enrolled at Lake Highlands last fall. She decided to give high school gymnastics a whirl. She's found her comfort zone.

Morrison is competing in club again for Metroplex Gymnastics in Allen as a Level 10 gymnast (a step below elite) and hopes to earn a college scholarship. The team-oriented aspect of high school and college gymnastics suits Morrison just fine.

"It's completely different from club," Morrison said. "I love being all about the team."

Garmon guided Keller to a third-place finish at the state championships. The fourth-year program was fifth last year and seventh two years ago. Garmon coaches the boys and girls teams at Keller, Keller Central and Keller Fossil Ridge.